Line fit connector



y 3, 1951 J. B. CLAPP 2,559,187

LINE FIT CONNECTOR Filed Jan. 14, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N V EN TOR..k/fgza/vf Z3. ("AA/ P u y 1951 J. B. CLAPP LINE FIT CONNECTOR FiledJanfl4, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Jam/v5 3 QAPP I N V EN TOR.

ATTO/P/Vf Patented July 3, 1951 UNITED STATES OFFICE LINE FIT CONNECTORApplication January 14, 1946, Serial No. 641,068

2 Claims.

The invention relates to a line fit connector of the type which isemployed to connect a tap to a main power line. In such situations it isusual that the diameters of the bundle of conductors which form the coreof the main power line is of much greater diameter than the bundle ofconductors which form the core of a tap leading therefrom, and thepresent disclosure is particularly designed to fit the requirements ofelectrically and mechanically connecting conductors of radicallydifferent cross sections of material. It has been known to clamp smalldiametered taps to large diametered main lines between V-face clampingjaws drawn into squeezing position by a tightening bolt, but in thesedevices no consideration has been given to the fact that the Vs wereintended to receive different diameters of conductors, and as a resultthe contacts of the conductors both between themselves and the connectorwere quite apt to be casual, often with a limited area of inter-engagingsurfaces. It is the intent of the present disclosure to have theconnector snugly fit the diameters of both the main line and the tapconductors for which it is intended, even to provide a precision fitbetween conductors and the connector and for this reason the disclosureherein is designated as a line fit connector.

The present disclosure is not particularly designed to connect two mainlines of substantially equal diameter but to connect two conductors ofunequal diameter. In screw actuated clamping devices now known forelectrically connecting a small diametered tap with a larger diameteredmain line, the entire reaction to the crushing strains on the two setsof conductors comes on the screw of the tightening bolt thus placing ahigh degree of friction on the bolt, which, of course, renders itdifficult to turn especially during the last few turns and which lastfew turns are necessary to distort the conductors from their originalcross sectional contours into Such distortion as is requisite to effectthe required engagement. Any loose binding even when apparently tightresults eventually in a tendency of the jaws to relax their squeezingeffect on the conductors by reason of the vibration' of the main lineand tap in actual service. It so happens that with these known devicesthe fastening bolt must be engaged on the underside of the connector tooperate it. This means that the linesman must manipulate his wrenchwhile in an inconvenient position and more seriously the wrench is quiteapt to become entangled in the tap falling from the connector. It mustbe appreciated that such .connectors are usually installed by a linesmanworking high in the air while reaching out from a line pole andoperating with gloved hands, often in cold and stormy weather, andhaving available only his muscular energy to screw down the tighteningbolt.

The primary object of the invention is to pro vide a simple form of fitline connector of the hinged jaw clamp type which can be easily andquickly installed in position under such adverse working in the clearspace above the connector and thus free of the depending tap.

As a general rule a linesman can exert a manual torque only of about onehundred and fifty pounds pressure on such clamps, but this is notsufiicient to insure the desired permanency of clamping effect on theconductors. The present disclosure features the use of a form of jawclamp comprising lever organized to provide such a mechanical advantagethat the linesman can manually exert the required powerful squeezepressure on the conductors to insure a good mechanical and electricalconnection and which connections will be permanently maintained underall usual service conditions.

The disclosure particularly features the providing of a rugged form ofhinged jaw clamp preferably formed of bronze or non-magnetic stainlesssteel to avoid corrosion and metal relaxation, the strain transmittingjaws of which may be readily separated at their hinged connection toopen the clamp and thus permit the connector to be hooked over the line,and in which the jaws form a compact system organized so that thelinesman with his ordinary long wrench can manually exert such apowerful squeeze action on the conductors as will cause them to distorteach other into the desired mutual fixed and bind-i ing relationnecessary in connecting a tap to a main power line.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a view in front elevationshowing a line fit connector constituting a preferred em bodiment of theinvention clamped in operative position making connection between a mainpower line and a tap depending therefrom;

' Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the disclosure of Fig. 1 in rearelevation and showing a tightening wrench in ghost outline;

Fig. 3 is a plan view looking down on the disclosure of the precedingfigures;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the broken line 44 ofFig. 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows and showing inside elevation the disclosure of the connector of the precedingvfigures;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figs. 1, 2and 6;

Fig. 6 is a view in section longitudinally of the line and taken on theline 6-6 of Fig. 4 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. '7 is a plan view looking down on the lower clamp element, removedfrom the assembly shown in the preceding figures;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of the underside of the upper clamp elementwhen viewed upwardly, and; Fig. 9 is an explanatory View showingthefirst step in the mounting of the connector, hooked en the linebeforethe bolt is moved towards its fully tightened positio'nsh'own bes'tFigs. 4 and '5; ere is disclosed an 'electri'c main power lineAihcluding its bundle of main conductors B and efncasing insulation C.The insulation has been cut away to expose the line connectors B and toshow the connection thereto of the bent ends of thebundle of conductorsD of an insulated tap E. The tap E is connected to the main line A bymeans of a line fit connector! 0, particularly constituting the novelfeature of this disclosure, and comprises primarily three main parts; atop clu ch jaw l l, a lower clutch jaw 12, and a threaded fasteningmeans [3 therebetween, form-'- e21 er a bolt 14 and a 16mg nut h'Ih jawsand 12 are hingedly eonneeteaat dn side, hereinafter referred to as therear side, by bf a'reedny demountable hinge eehhection l6 arrangedto'jeriiiit the jaws to articulate ab'eiit a horizontal axis offsetrearwardly from the 1 ine A andh'erei'n referred to the hinge this #455.The upp r at is ajrugged as and. comprises an a'ilied "cap H l'm'igifigfdfwardlyifito a flat ufifiehaperturd belting na 'ge if; havihga recessd u per face l}; for reeeiving th ad or the bolt 1'4 or rather the lacwasher fielfelfiafliei' described. The sense 1'8 provided ef rall'ythereof with'abelt hole tt rshght ly ell 'tieal faith the having itsinaj 6i extend- Tr ignbm "front 'te tea for le'o'sefy r'eeeivih'g th'eshahk o'f the bolt the T eeap is grandee on the underside thereof with a"math line ehgag ing channel 2 I being inverted u-ehape ee' eh as shownin 4, 5. ande. Co'fisi 1311118 tress seetioii the channel is of sumlen'tradius to receive therein the bundle of conductors B endceinpar'edto thedress 'seetionef the'buiidle of tap'cdnductersb 'i'srel'altivelylarge. ITheunder si'd e of the fcha n'neljl' l tethdejdoi" Ii;- wafdlyrrehi atop medial'liherz (seeFig. '5) and which ehannel'i's shghtiy'eefivexedwhen ethereereu along "this media ii'he 22 in order tosiiub the line asshown inFi'g/fi. A "pair or Sll l l lii ei pieces or dampening wings 23eh-e124 project beyond the cap at o posite sides "thereof -to formupwardly rounded extensions "of the "top "su of the inverted channel zl.This'sjtrucfture to avoid the forming of 'sharp edgesf'at opposite endsof the channel and tends to uajinpeh the standing part of aJehape'attheuet'rhtGk 2"! vibration of the main line A. The-si es r therecessed to provide a pair of de endin sides35" a hexagonal" head 46"and is'prov s of less than width than the cap [1 as shown in Fig. 2 andforms the male element of the demountable hinge connection it. Thetongue is provided on its upper side with a groove 28, a little lessthan half round and facing both upwardly and rearwardly and adapted toreceive a hinged bar forming part of the lower jaw l2.

The front wall 25 is interrupted to form a clearance 29 best shown inFig. l to permit the bolt to rock therein from front to rear withoutinterference from any part of the top jaw.

The lower jaw 12 is likewise a rugged casting and is provided centrallythereof with a saddle 30 for receiving the bundle of conductors D of thetap. The saddle is provided with an upwardly facing groove 3| 'or linereceiving seat disposed in opposition to the channel 2| and ofmaterially less diameter than the channel as the cross section of thebundle of conductors D of the tap is relatively small as shown in Figs.4 and 5. I he groove 31 is more definitely V shap'e in 'ciess f:- tionthan is the more rounded U-S epea ch 2 l This groove 3'! is slightlyconcaved when ment. Just in advance of the groove "3| th an upstandingfront wall 32, the inner s'id which is rounded to form a half barrelwviewed in plan as shown in Fig. 8 and is ds to partially encircle thenut i5. The wall 3 2 ts in the clearance 29 as shewnin Fig. land thusguided between the dependingpo'rtions {if the front wall 25 asthefastening means 16 tightened into its jaw clait iping position.

A forward extension of the sado f lower bolting fiange eeunderlapping heripper bo'lting flange E 8. Thefiange 33 rs previd'ed trally thereofwith a bolt hole 34 0f 'rnateii l" greater diameter than that or the nuti5 to "13 m'it a free rocking movement of the lower endof the fasteningmeans. 7

The underside of the portion of the flange in the part thereof'containingfth e 'bolt holefSt and 36 between which fits theheadedend'of the nut 15 and whichside's thus act to resist turn v ing ofthe nut relative to the lew'er jaw "12 From the opposite or rear sideof'the sad the lower jaw extends upwardly 'a't fan a" about to form arear ex'te'nsiongB'i. This tension is provided with "a Squared op bestshown for receiving the J shap'ed tongue 27,. The openin -farms at itsrear "end of the eiteii sion a hanging or hinge bar 39 which fits in'thegroove 28. v V p w 1 [It is notedthatthe bolt 1 is solid tively short sothat the 'full strength" f 'th is maintained and as practically theentire s f is threaded all of the threads are atfs or other 'engaged bythe'longf'thr'e ded v tion of'th'e'nut'l5 "al'ld intha't wayall (if isutilized. 7 I i q 1 The bolt I4 is'provideu' tjrt fappe ehd th end withn upsetfl'ang e eifwhich av bili'ty of the bolt be the nut. The'nut int2 terminating atits and 3E to prevent thehut frdm nutis rotated to"advance it up I unclanfpedand elevated positihh's'hbwni itsuppei Thebore or the wetneauee sit- "at end te form threads 4'4 andi's "sin'oothas shewn 3'? at and with a diameter to receive the upset flange 4|.

A look washer 2-5 is located in bearing engagement with the face I9 andbetween the bolt head 40 and the upper bolting flange IS.

A socket wrench or similar tool F is provided with a head G to fit overthe bolt head 40 and. is provided with a long handle 1-1 to provide thenecessary leverage to permit the linesman to effect a powerful effect onthe jaw elements which react with a mechanical advantage sufiicient tosqueeze the line and tap conductors B and D into position and securedmechanically and electrlcally as shown in Figs. 1, 4, 5 and 6.

In operation and assuming that it is desired to take current off themain line A through the tap E, the main line insulation C is stripped toexpose a portion of its conductors B. One end of the tap is prepared bystripping back its insulation to expose its conductors D which are thenbent at right angles to the balance of the tap to form a terminal. Theline it connector it is prepared first by loosening the fastening meansuntil the jaws II and are fully separated an extent to permit thestripped conductors of the.

line A to pass freely therebetween. The top clutch jaw I I is thenhooked over the line A with the lower clutch jaw I22 hanging loose onthe nut as indicated in Fig. 9. The parts are so balanced at this pointthat the connector is pended in position without necessity of beingfastened to the line while the linesrnan is complet ing the fasteningoperation.

In order to obtain this result the parts are so designed andproportioned that the center of gravity or mass of the connector is thevertical line cd (Fig. 4) and somewhere below the axis of the bundle ofconductors B so that in Fig. 9 the connector is suspended as if it werea weighted pendulum with sufficient frictional resistance between theconductors l3 and the sides and 2% to avoid any tendency of theconnector rocking on the line A. The linesman then swings the lowerclutch jaw I2 to the right and upwardly from the position shown in Fig.9 rocking the bolt counter-clockwise about the flange id acting as afulcrum, and hooks the hinge bar 323 over the right end of the J-hookill and then with a short inward movement locates thebar 39 in thegroove 28. During this movement the bolt It is free to swing firstcounter-clockwise and then clockwise as viewed in Fig. 9, by reason ofthe clearances provided by the bolt holes and 3%. As the hingeconnection It is thus formed, the forward end of the lower clutch jaw isfree to ad-- just itself on the bolt and nut assembly at the front ofthe device.

At this time the lower jaw is supported at its rear end from the hook 2?and at its front end from the lowered nut I5 and inclined downwardlyfrom right to left, as viewed in Figs. 4, 5 and 9, thus providing aclearance between the underside of the conductors B and the top orgrooved side of the saddle 3%. A usual practice would be for thelinesman to locate the wrench F in position and take a few turns on thebolt head 4% to practically close this clearance leaving just sufficientroom to permit the insertion of the bent terminal end of the conductorsD. lIhe bent terminal forming end of the bundle of conductors D is theninserted endwise into the clearance and lowered into the groove 3|.

The linesman then locates the head G of the tool F in turning engagementwith the head 40 of the nut if not already there and by rotating d thetool in the proper direction causes the bolt I4 to work down into thenut I5 and by reaction lifting the left end of the lower clutch jaw I2,I

thus tightening the connector and incidentally causing the jaws II andI2 to exert a squeeze pressure on the conductors B and D with aresulting tendency of the conductors to crush into each other assuggested in Figs. 4, 5 and 6.

In this disclosure it is assumed that the connector has been selectedfrom stock to provide a size particularly designed to fit the line A.However, taps of different sizes may be connected tothat particular sizeof main line by the illustrated size of connector. In the illustratedshowing and particularly referring to Fig. 5, it.

may be assumed that the bundle of conductors are of usual size and thuswill bring the nut I5 to above midlength of the threaded shank of thebolt I i. For another illustration let it be assumed that the tap E. isa single strand conductor and thus of relatively small diameter. Thefastening means are tightened as before described with the lower clutchjaw I2 rocking a little further about the hinge axis ab than as beforewith perhaps a slight bodily shifting of the jaw I2 to the left and thusa shifting inwardly of this axis and with the upper conical end of thebarrel 22 moving towards and perhaps intruding into the bolt hole 2E5with an incidental swinging of the bolt I4 clockwise about its head til.On the other hand the conductors D might have a diameter almost equal tothat of the conductors A and still fit the illustrated connection. Ingeneral the connector is designed to accommodate all the sizes of tapsusually employed with the instant size of main line A.

Due to the fact that the opposing line engaging faces forming thechannel ill and groove 3| are respectively convex and concave and withthe concave face of less length than the convex face as shown in 6, bothsets of conductors are bent in the same downward direction and thus outof their respective straight lines. This has the efiect of snubbing bothsets of conductors relative to each other and in this way adds to thetendency of the device to defeat any possibility of either main line ortap slipping relative to the connector and thus relative to each other.

Referring to Fig. 4 for an explanation of the clamping action let it beassumed that the upper jaw is fixed in space and that the fasteningmeans I3 is acting to rock the free forward end of the lower jaw I2upwardly, that is clockwise, about the fulcrum at the hinge line ab.

The bolt and nut assembly forming the fastening means I3 defines avertical line of thrust along the axis ef and the resistance of theconductors to being deformed from a vertical line of resistance alongthe axis c--0Z. In one physical embodiment of the invention the axis e)is spaced seven unit distances from the vertical containing the axis a-band the axis cd is similarly spaced four unit distances from the axisa,b. Thus the conductors are nearer the fulcrum of the leverage systemthan the fastening means I3, thus forming a lever of the second classproviding a mechanical advantage of 1%:1 or almost doubling the squeezeaction which the linesman can exert on the conductors assuming the samepitch of threads on the bolt l4.

It is also noted that the forces acting on the connector aresubstantially balanced about the almost centered plane cd passingthrough the centers of the bundles of conductors B and D and this actsto avoid tendencies prevalent with other styleszof connectors. whichtend to. twisttthe; main line conductors. during the final. bolt tight,-ening movement.

In designing the connector illustrated an effort. has been made to formit as compact as. DOS? sible, thus utilizing the smallest possibleamount,

of material distributed and proportioned to; give strength,particularly, where. most needed, and it isaa feature of this disclosureto avoid asv far as possible, any distortion. of either the. jaws orthe. fastening means when subjected to the pressure strainsv for whichthe connector is designed, and sharp, edges have. been avoided so as toavoid ins terference, with. the. final tape-over operation.

I claim:

LA. compact; clamp for squeezing together. under. screw load twoparallel conductors of different sizes, comprising a. pair of; ruggedarchshaped. castings forming opposing and superposed clutch jaws, eachjaw reduced in cross. section of material to form at one end anoutstanding bolting flange and at its other end. provided with an angledextension, both of the bolting flanges having their outer faces recessedto provi'de outstanding parallel reinforcing side walls forming bearingfaces therebetween and forming nut stops, said extensions provided attheir free ends with means for hingedly connecting the jaws, saidbolting flanges provided adjacent their free forward ends with alignedbolt holes, a bolt passing loosely through the bolt holes and having ahead for imposing a load on the bearing face of theupper flange, and along not threaded on the bolt, having a head contained between theassociated stop walls for imposing a load on the bearing face of thelower flange, extending through its bolt hole towards the upper flange,the upper flange provided onits under side and in close relation to itsbolt hole with an inverted U -shaped depression whose crotch forms: adownwardly facing channel of relatively large radius and Whose sides arewidely diverging from each other, thelower flange provided on its upper;

side and;in close relation to its bolt hole, with a deep recess whosecrotch forms an upwardly facing groove of relatively small radius andwhose sides are widely diverging, said recesses providing;

a space between the channel and groovefor receiving the conductors, thelower, flange provided between its groove and bolt hole with anupstanding; reinforcing front wall of half-barrel form 8; open. atitsouter side and. in, which barrel the. nut loosely fits and projectsabove the same, the, upper flange provided. with a mutilated front wallforming a pair of depending arms spaced apart on opposite sides of itsbolt hole and the space outwardly between the dependingv arms and,vout.- wardly. of the upstanding half-barrel front wall, coactingtoprovide a clearance. for the nut as it may be moved intothe same by,the rocking of;

tween the depending arms of. the mutilated front wall, said half-barrelfront wall, nut and depending arms outlining the forward side of therecesses forming said conductor-receiving space,

and the two angled extensions outlining the rear side of the recessesform-ing said conductorreceiving space.

2. The device defined in claim 1 wherein the upper jaw is provided withintegral dampering wings projecting beyond its side faces formingextensions of the part of the upper jaw defining the crotch of thechannel.

JEROME B. CLAPP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,278,013 Reed Sept. 3, 19181,403,553 Horn Jan. 17, 1922 1,500,499 Johnson July 8, 1924 1,737,506McCracken Nov. 26, 1929 1,808,698 Wallis, June 2, 1931 1,816,719Buschman July 28, 1931 1,839,883 Lee 1 Jan. 5, 1932 1,925,403 PounderSept. 5, 1933 1,957,966 Kerr May 8, 1934 2,026,029 Frank Dec. 31, 19352,128,895 Buehring Sept. 6, 1938 2,163,677 Goeller June 27, 19392,198,262 Bergan Apr. 23, 1940 2,200,380 Bodendieck May 14, 19402,309,607 Rogoff Jan. 26,. 1943 7 2,382,095 Pieper Aug. 14, 19452,426,857 Birkenmaier- Sept. 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS- Number Country Date386,493 England Jan. 19, 19,33

the bolt, said half-barrel front wall fitted. be

